Scorpion: Walter and Paige
by torriya
Summary: Hey there! Just a quick one-shot of how I would've preferred the last episode of Scorpion (1x20) to end. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Walter gazed up into Paige's flat. The light in her kitchen was on, and he could see her tousling Ralph's hair as he picked at his food. She was laughing at something Ralph had said, and Walter could picture her eyes lighting up as she joked with her son.

Walter took a deep breath as he approached Paige's door and rang the bell. He could hear her footsteps walking down the stairs. She would open the door in 3…2…

"Walter, hi!" Paige said, surprise evident in her voice. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine" Walter replied hastily. "Everything's fine. Why wouldn't it be?"

"No reason," she responded, hiding a grin. "You just don't usually show up at my house at dinner time."

Walter looked embarrassed. "You're right, I'm sorry. I'll just, umm…"

"Kidding, Walter" Paige said, laughing softly at his awkwardness. "Would you like to come in?"

Walter nodded and stepped inside, as Paige said, "Let me grab Ralph…he'll be excited to see you."

"Not right now," he replied. "It's you I wanted to talk t–"

"Walt! Hey, man!" came a familiar voice. Walter saw Drew jogging down the stairs toward him, hand outstretched.

"Hello, Drew" Walter replied formally, shaking Drew's hand. "What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be back until next Friday."

Drew grinned at him, "I got everything moved into the new house a little sooner than planned. I was excited to get back and tell Paige and Ralph about it." Walter frowned at Drew's cocky behavior as he continued, saying "What about you, Walt? What are you doing here?"

"I…um…It's classified" Walter stammered, his mind jerking into panic mode: _How am I supposed to tell Paige how I feel with Drew hanging around? _he thought worriedly. _What if Paige doesn't feel the same way? What if her and Drew were back together? What if he was going to take her and Ralph to Portland? What do I do? Snap out of it, Walter! _he told himself angrily. _Snap out of it!_

"Paige!" Walter said suddenly, startling Paige and Drew. "I need to talk to Paige." Drew raised his eyebrows, but turned to go back upstairs.

"What do you need, Walter?" Paige asked, her voice full of concern, as she led him into another room. _God, she was so beautiful, _he thought. "Walter?" He snapped out of his reverie and tried to make himself stop staring at her. "What do you need?" she repeated, gazing up at him.

"You" Walter replied, stepping toward her. Before he could second-guess himself, he took her face in his hands, and pressed his lips gently against hers. A second later, he pulled back, staring at the ground and blushing furiously. "I'm sorry" he whispered. "I shouldn't have…um, you, uh…"

"Walter," she said softly, in that teasing voice he knew so well. He tried to turn away from her, but she caught his arm and gently held him there. She slowly placed her arms around his neck, embracing him. She couldn't keep herself from smiling as she looked into his eyes. "Did you want to elaborate on that?" she asked.

Walter shot her a tortured look. What he wanted more than anything in the world was to run away…or perhaps kiss her again. _You need to do this, _he told himself:

"Paige, from the day I met you, I knew you were the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. But that type of information doesn't affect me…it was just a fact. Then I got to know you, and not only are you beautiful, but you are intelligent, funny, and the kindest person I've ever known. And I know that I'm not good at feeling emotions, but even I know that I'm in love with you."

As soon as the words passed his lips, he froze, terrified for her response. He expected her to walk away, or even hit him, but instead, she pulled him closer, tears in her eyes. "I love you too, Walter" she whispered before leaning in for another kiss.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I don't know of anyone who was happy with the way the last episode of Scorpion ended (many tears were shed), so I'm here to add my version of the ending! Please remember, this is a one-shot and has nothing to do with the events in my previous chapter.**

**Unfortunately, I do not own any of the Scorpion characters :( Oh well...enjoy!**

Happy, Toby, and Sylvester stood still as they observed their two friends fighting. Toby shook his head sadly as watched all the effort he had spent analyzing Paige and Walter's relationship going down the drain.

"Is it so awful being me? Being around me?" Walter shouted, his voice breaking with emotion.

Paige's expression softened as she looked at him: Walter 'I-have-no-emotions' O'Brian was crying, and it broke her heart. She wanted to hug him and tell him that she couldn't bear to leave him, but she knew she had to do this for Ralph.

"I just don't want him turning into you!" she yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Mom?" came a tiny voice from behind her. _Oh my God, _she thought, her heart sinking. _What is he doing here? He's supposed to be with Drew!_ "Mom, why are you yelling at Walter?"

Paige turned and reached out toward her son, "Ralph, I-" she began, but he walked right past her and wrapped his arms around Walter's waist. Walter froze for a second as he processed the close contact, but he slowly knelt down and hugged Ralph back tightly.

"It's okay, buddy" Walter lied, holding back tears. "I'll be okay." He stood up and ruffled Ralph's hair. "I'm going to miss you so much, Ralph," Walter whispered, his voice catching in his throat. "I love you, kid."

Paige's hand was pressed to her mouth as she watched her son crying next to Walter. "Come on, Ralph" she said quietly. "Let's go, sweetheart." Ralph shook his head stubbornly, and grabbed Walter's hand tightly.

"Why are you doing this, Mom?" he asked angrily, "I know you love me, and I know you love Walter! So why do you want to make us sad?"

Paige froze at her son's words. _How on earth could Ralph know she loved Walter? She didn't even know that she loved him! Did she?_ Paige stared at the ground, trying to come up with a response.

Happy, Toby, and Sly were watching the scene with their mouths wide open. Toby was the first to recover.

"It all makes sense!" he whispered loudly. "Paige's decision to leave wasn't just a choice to protect Ralph: the benefits of taking him to Maine are about equal to the negative effects of him leaving us! As Ralph just said, 'why would she want to make him sad?' Her decision to leave is partially an unconscious fear that her and Walter won't be able to make their relationship work!" Happy elbowed him in the ribs, jerking her head towards Paige, who was shaking slightly.

"Ralph," Paige said, her voice trembling, "We're leaving..._now._"

The room was silent for a long moment, as everyone looked at Ralph. Walter stepped in front of him protectively. "No."

Paige stared at him, shocked. "Is it true?" Walter asked. "What Ralph and Toby said?"

"Of course it is!" Toby muttered to Happy, earning another elbow in the ribs. "I'm always right!"

Paige took a deep breath, steadying herself. She couldn't deal with everyone watching her. She turned to Happy, saying "Could you guys go somewhere else for a bit?" Happy nodded, taking Ralph by the hand, and shoving the other two guys out the door.

When the door shut behind them, Paige and Walter faced each other.

"You love Ralph?"

"You love me?"

They spoke at the same time, desperate to find their answers. Paige shook her head, and indicated that Walter should go first. He took a deep breath: "Of course I love Ralph. He's made me believe in second chances, and realize that I do have emotions."

Paige smiled at him sadly. "I didn't know, Walter. I'm so sorry for taking him away from you. But if you truly love him, then you have to understand I'm doing what's best for him."

"No you're not, Paige!" Walter shouted, getting angry again. "Toby was right! You're just scared that you and I won't work out! That I'll hurt you like Drew did!"

Paige stepped back from him as tears spilled down her cheeks. "Paige, you don't have to worry about that...I'll never hurt you...or Ralph. I promise."

"I know, Walter" she said quietly. "Toby was right." She took a deep breath and murmured"So was Ralph."

Walter just stared at her with a look of shock on his face. Paige blushed and turned away, but he gently reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her toward him. He tentatively reached out and wrapped his arms around her. Paige returned the hug with tears rolling down her cheeks.

The pair held each other for a long minute, until the door opened and Toby triumphantly marched in, with Happy, Sly, and Ralph close behind him. "See?" he said, indicating Walter and Paige's hug. "I'm always right!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello! This is a little story for Walter's first day back at work after he gets out of the hospital. Enjoy!**

Happy, Toby, and Cabe were all standing behind Sylvester as he indicated the algorithm on his computer with a frustrated gesture. "It doesn't make sense!" Sly cried. "Every time I decode part of it, the figures shift!"

"Relax, Sylvester" Paige called softly from the sofa. "I know you'll figure it out", she reassured him as she turned back to her book.

"Paige, we appreciate your confidence in us" Toby said dryly, "but there's really no way we can understand this, unless —"

"Unless you can figure out the pattern at which the sequence is changing, and then anticipate the next move" came a soft, deep voice from the doorway.

Everyone turned around to see Walter standing in the doorway, his cheek stitched up, and arm in a sling.

"Walter!" Sly shrieked, standing up and rushing to hug his friend.

"That's what I was going to say," Toby muttered, as he watched Walter grimace under Sylvester's hug. "Easy there, Sly!" he called "You don't want to send him back to the hospital, do you?"

Sly quickly let go, stepping back and apologizing.

"It's okay, buddy" Walter said, grinning. "It's good to see you."

Happy stepped up and briefly embraced Walter. "Glad you're back, Walt" she murmured.

"Thanks, Happy" Walter replied, smiling sincerely at his friend. He knew how difficult it was for her to express emotions, and he appreciated her happiness at seeing him better.

Walter embraced Toby next, wincing as Toby slapped him on the back. When Toby released him, Walter stepped back, and noticed Paige and Cabe standing off to the side. He approached Cabe first, and held out his uninjured arm for a handshake. Cabe ignored his outstretched arm, pulling Walter into a bear hug. "You ever do a stupid thing like that again, son, and I will kick your butt, understand?"

"Yes sir," Walter replied, trying to keep a straight face. He couldn't believe how good it felt to hear Cabe call him 'son' again. They hugged for a few more moments, before Cabe released him, and looking at the other geniuses, tilted his head subtly toward the door. Smirking slightly, Toby followed Cabe out of the door, with Sly and Happy close behind him.

Paige blushed slightly as the others left the room. She slowly walked up to Walter and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her chin on his shoulder. She felt his arms go around her waist, hugging her tightly. "I'm so happy you're okay, Walter" she whispered.

"Me too" he said quietly, feeling the softness of her hair against his cheek. He pulled back suddenly, looking carefully at her. "Paige." he stated.

"Hmm?" she asked, looking into his dark eyes.

"That first night, when I was in the hospital, you came to visit me after the others left."

Paige looked surprised that he remembered. "Yes, I did."

"And, um, you said something," Walter continued hesitantly. "That you cared about me."

She nodded slowly. "I do".

"Well, that's um, good, because...when I was hanging in that car, I didn't want to move until I talked to you. I wanted to tell you that I...I care about you too...a lot. You and Ralph changed me, Paige, and I can't imagine my life without you."

Walter reached out and wiped away one of Paige's tears as he continued. "I'm sorry for being insensitive about the danger Ralph was in. I shouldn't have said those things about you or Drew, but I was hurt by the things you said. I was just so..." he trailed off.

"Emotional?" Paige supplied with a laugh. Walter chuckled weakly in agreement. "It's okay, Walter" she said with a sigh. "I shouldn't have yelled at you...it wasn't your fault. And it's _not _awful being around you...It's quite wonderful really."

Walter nodded, looking relieved, but still nervous. "And there, uh, was something else. Something you did that I couldn't do anything about because I was unconscious, but I want to do something about it now."

"And what's that, Walter?" she asked, trying to bite back a smile. Her hands were shaking slightly as Walter stepped toward her.

"This" he whispered, as he leaned in and gently pressed his mouth to hers. Paige paused for a moment, then lifting her hands, she ran her fingers through Walter's hair while continuing the kiss.

After several moments, the couple broke apart. Paige stroked the side of Walter's face softly, like she had when he was in the hospital. "I have to go pick up Ralph from school" she murmured. "Wanna come with me?"

Walter nodded, taking her hand. "I'd love to."


End file.
